BBC Antiques Roadshow expert exposes 'downsides' of historic item as he admits 'it's worth what you paid'
Antiques Roadshow's Paul Atterbury was left stunned by the history of the guests item
BBC
Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury delved into the history of one of the guests’ treasured items – but didn’t have good news when it came to the valuation.
As the experts wandered around the roadshow talking to guests, Adam Schoon received a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Scottish Cup, the most important trophy in Scottish football.
He also found out more about - Andrew Watson, who is considered as the first black international footballer.
Other items in the repeat episode included a carrier bag full of rare Russian jewels, a collection of dolls' house crockery, and a black opal necklace.
However, it was one guest's box of Victorian sides which intrigued Paul Atterbury as he noted: “I have always felt that one of the greatest achievements of the Victorians was photography.
“For the first time we could record who we were and what we looked like, and one of the many developments in the late 19th century in particular, was the lantern slides.
The guest had a whole box full of the slides
BBC
“They were often in sets and often they told us things that we really didn’t know, this is a box of slides which tells a story, what is that story?”
The guest explained: “It is a story about a farm that had been set up as an educational facility for young lads and it looks like the young lads and it looks like the young lads were destitute taken from Glasgow and taken to the farm to give them an education.
“There is a chap called George Cosser that I found who had this idea to set up this farm and then I noticed on one of the slides the boys were on board a ship and thinking ‘What were they doing there?’.
“And saw the ship's name and I checked that that ship was going to Canada, so that got me thinking about the fact that these boys might be sent to Canada, and it really reveals their state of mind and their heart, and soul.”
Paul Atterbury was keen to find out where the boys were now
BBC
Atterbury added: “And looking rather worried about it. This was a very major philanthropist activity in late Victorian Britain, it started in 1869, and between then and the 1920s, we exported 100,000 children to Canada.
“So once you see the scale of it, you really do begin, I began to question it, because you know these children didn’t have an option.
“They were ripped out of their environment whether they liked it or not, but what about their families, what if they didn’t want to go to Canada, none of that was relevant.
“What I want to know, is have you ever found out what happened to any of those children?” leaving the guest to admit: “Not yet.
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The guest revealed he was going to find some of the boys in the image
BBC
“But I am hopeful because in one of the photographs the children are carrying a case and the initials are on the case and reading the ship's log I can maybe start to match up names with the children.”
“And then you could trace them,” Atterbury excitedly quipped before the guest agreed: “That is what I am hoping.”
The photography expert went on to ask: “What did you pay for the box?” leaving the guest to reveal it was “less than £100.”
Delivering the bad news, Atterbury said: “Well that’s what it’s worth. But the value of what it tells us about ourselves and our own behaviour and our attitudes, I think is remarkable.
“Great story and do trace them if you can, that would be a wonderful thing. Just think, there is a family in Canada and that was their grandfather, think about what that would mean to them! Good luck with that!”
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